Improvement in apparatus for the manufacture of gas



. v A. C. L-IIPP ITT.- APPARATUS FOR THE! MANUFACTURE-0F GAS.

Patented March 20,1877.

M'inewes'.

NPEI'ERS. PHOTO UTHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON. X10.

n'rrnn STATES ANDREW O. LIPPITT, OF NEW LONDON OONNEGTIGUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 188,473, dated March 20,1877; application filed Y March 22, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW G. LIPPITT, of New London, in the county ofNew London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain Improvementsin Apparatus for the Manufacture of Gas, of which the following is aspecification Y My invention consists in so combining and arranging theseveral parts of the apparatus -that the supply of the water-gas and ofthe tion, shown more in detail.

In the manufacture of gas by the Harkness .and similarmethods, the steamispassed through the hot coal in the generator, and from thence flowsdirectly to the retort, the result of which is that the supply to theretort is irregular,and can only be continued until the supply from thegenerator isexhausted.

In like manner the oil or petroleum is taken direct from a tank to theretort, whereby the supply of it is also rendered irregular and varying,and it follows from these two causes that the proportions of thewater-gas and of the petroleum cannot be regulated and controlled withthat certainty and uniformity that is necessary in order to produce anilluminating-gas of proper quality. If there be too much of thepetroleum the gas will smoke when burned andif too little, then the gaswill be lacking in illuminating power.

The object of my invention or improvements is to overcome thesedifficulties, which I do in the following manner:

Referring totbe accompanying drawing, G represents the generator and B;the retort, which may be of the style described in said Harkness patent,or of any other suitable style, Instead of taking the water-gas from thegenerator direct to the retort I convey it by apipe, 0, to a hydraulicmain, I. Into this main, as shown in Fig. 2,1 tap two pipes,

r and 1), through the latter of which a stream' of cold water is allowedto flow, to keep the water in the main cool, while in the pipe 1' Iarrange a sprinkler, through which a spray of cold water enters the mainto wash and purify ducted by a pipe, 0, into a lime purifier, P,

Which may be either wet or dry, as preferred,

Where it is purified in the usual manner by taking therefrom thesulphur, carbonic acid, &c. by a pipe, 0, into a gasometer or holder, H,from whence it is conducted by a pipe, n, to

the retort B, the pipe 11,, before entering the retort, being coiled orcarried back and-forth in a heating-chamber, T, located above, ,or atany suitable point near the retort, where it may be heated by theescaping gases from the.

furnace'of the retort. the watergas retort.

By this arrangement It will be seen that by this arrangement I not onlywash or cool the water-gas as it'comes from thegeuerator, therebyseparating therefrom any steam which may have accidentally passed thegenerator, but also purify it by passing it through a lime purifier,thus re moving all impurities before it enters the retort. In additionto this, by conducting it into the holder HI am enabled to feed ittherefrom into the retort under a regular and uniform pressure, wherebyI can control the supply to the retort perfectly, it, of course, beingunderstood that the supply-pipe n will also be provided with suitablevalves or cocks,

as shown at .t, Fig. l, to be located at any convenient point.

In order to regulate with equal certainty the supply of petroleum Iarrange two tank s, A and B, as represented in Fig. l. The tank A isintended as the main supply-tank, while the tank B, which is connectedthereto by a From the purifier P the gas is conducted is heated beforeit enters the.

pipe, f, provided with a stopcock, is designed as a regulating tank ordevice. In this tank B is located a float, 0, connected by a lever to acock, 0, in the pipe f, by which the height 11, which carries it intothe retort, as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, a strainer, a, may be anranged in either or both of the 'tanks Aan d B. I also propose to carrythe oil-pipe into and through the heating-chamber T, so as to heat theoil before it enters the retort, thus bringing the oil and the water-gasboth in a heated condition into' the retort, whereby a more ready unionof the two is effected.

For the purpose of testing the gas before it enters the retort I attachan outlet-pipe, m, with a stop-cock, to the supply-pipe n at anysuitable point between the holder and the retort, it being representedin Fig. 1 as .being by the side of theretort'for convenience. In likemanner I provide a burner, 70, connected to a pipe leading from theretort, by which the gas, after beingformed in the retort, may also betested by the application of a photometer, or other suitable means,so'that its illuminatingpower can at anytime'be de-' termined orascertained. 1

- By these means it will be seen that I .can regulate with certainty thesupply of both the water-gas and the oil to'theretort; and that,

when these are once adjusted so as to furnish the proper proportion ofeach, the formation of the completed gas is rendered cofitinuons anduniform so long as thesupply is kept up, thereby efl'ectually overcomingthe .diificulties hereinbefore mentioned; and, fur- :J'ither, that thegas thus produced is not only yfreed fromimpurities, but is alsorendered uniform in its quality--a result which has By this means I amalso able to test watergas before it enters the retort. and, if foundimpure, to reject it or pass it again through the purifiers, the pipes,of course, being suitably arranged for that purpose.

By separating the generator from the retort, and conducting thewater-gas intoaholder, I am also enabled to supply heatinggas directfromthe holder for heating purposesthis' water-gas burning without theaddition of oil, this latter being required only when the gas is to beused for illuminating purposes.

It is obvious that either the hydraulic main,

the lime purifier, or the holder may be used separately with thegenerator; but I prefer to use them all together, as giving the best andrnostperfect results.

- It is also obvious that thevarious devices may be arranged differentlyand modified in tion to enable any one skilled in the art to understandand apply the same.

By actual experiment I have found these improvements to be of greatvalue, asby their use, in connection with the Harkness process, Iam ableto produce a very superior quality of gas, and alsoto run the works withregularity and certainty, insuring the production of the gas of uniformquality and with much less attention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is y i i 1. Incombination with the retort R, the automatic or self-regulating cock 0,for controlling the flow of the oil, and the gas-holder H, for supplyingthe water-gas to the retort, whereby the relativequantiti es of the oiland water-gas are rendered constant, so as to produce an illuminatinggasof uniform quality,

as set forth.

Y 2. In combinationwith the selffregulatiug oil-supplying device audthegas-holder, the

cocksh and t in the'pipes connecting the oiltank and the gas-holder withthe retort, :for the purpose of adjusting and controlling the relativequantities of the oil and gas fed into

